1. There are a variety of things in the sports world that just go together perfectly. Ernie, Kenny, Charles and Shaq. Madden and Summerall. Mike and the Mad Dog. The NFL and awful officiating. The NBA and incessant timeouts. Me complaining about streaming. You just can’t imagine one thing without the other.
Currently, there may not be a better pairing than Scott Hanson and the RedZone channel. The popularity of RedZone cannot be overstated, especially during this time when sports betting has exploded. For many NFL fans, Sundays mean “RedZone” more than “football.” And that means spending nearly eight hours each Sunday with Hanson, who has hosted Red Zone for the last 16 seasons.
Those fans, though, almost suffered a catastrophe this offseason when Hanson thought he was done with RedZone.
Hanson’s contract had expired earlier this year and rumors swirled that he could be out after tough negotiations with the NFL.
On the latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast, I asked him if there was a time when he thought he was not returning to the RedZone channel.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Hanson said on the podcast. “I suppose it would be like being a football player in free agency. You love your position that got you to the point where other places want you, so you want to stay, you like your teammates, you like your coaches, you like the demands of the position that you play for your current team. But if the management or ownership of that team doesn’t value you as much as others might, you have to look at what’s best for you, your career, your family, your life.
“So there was a time when I thought, I don’t know if this is gonna happen. It was not my intention to have it go that direction.”
Luckily for RedZone viewers, Hanson and the NFL were able to hash out a new four-year contract. That means when this current deal is over, Hanson will have been at the RedZone reins for 20 years.
Fans love familiarity and consistency when it comes to sports television. With Hanson hosting a vital show for so many years, it’s not a surprise he could attract a cult-like popularity.
During the podcast, Hanson explained just how far RedZone fans have gone over the years to show their appreciation for him and the show.
“People started going out as the Octobox or as me for Halloween,” Hanson said. “People started naming their pets after things on RedZone. There’s a dog in Idaho named Ocotbox. When people started to incorporate RedZone into their marriage wows—and I have been sent videos from husbands and wives saying, ‘I pledge faithfulness and to watch RedZone with you,’ multiple times. I get Christmas cards from people I’ve never met because they consider me one of their family.”
Those people will now have that family member around for another four years.
You can listen to the full podcast with Hanson below.
2. The big sports media news on Wednesday was that it appears Fox/FS1 are going to get in bed with Barstool Sports. I had no idea this was a possibility when I wrote on Tuesday that FS1 should use podcasts, such as Pardon My Take, as part of their daytime programming.
According to the reports, Dave Portnoy will have a role on FS1’s college football pregame show. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic also reported that Barstool will have its own pre pregame show.
Barstool is expected to have its own college football pregame show before Big Noon Kickoff at select games, according to sources. https://t.co/LWACtTa2f0
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) July 16, 2025
I know a lot of people freak out at the mere mention of “Barstool,” but this is a smart business move by Fox. Barstool has a huge audience, and more importantly, they have a young audience.
Fox clearly wants to beat ESPN’s College GameDay in the ratings war and the best way to do that is to try and bring in a younger audience. Fox can’t compete with ESPN when it comes to an older audience because GameDay is an institution that has been on the air since 1987.
I know some of you will scoff and are turned off by the idea of Barstool being involved with a network pregame show, but it’s just that: a pregame show. We’re not talking about 60 Minutes here. Pregame shows, especially in the college ranks, should be nothing but fun, light and entertaining. Fox bringing in a partnership with Barstool to help dethrone GameDay just makes sense from a numbers standpoint.
3. I feature Chris “Mad Dog” Russo in this column on a regular basis and I don’t like teasing his rants. I want you to go in fresh, without expectation, so you can get maximum enjoyment. So here’s part of his latest via Wednesday’s First Take.
Who needs forced LeBron James topics on First Take when you can have Dog rant about Jet Blue and British Airways travel nightmares to Dornoch for more than 10 minutes!! pic.twitter.com/KLu1G8q4LV
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 16, 2025
4. Netflix dropped a new trailer Thursday for WWE: Unreal, which debuts on July 29. It looks like a must-watch for any wrerstling fan.
What does it take to write and produce one of the most secretive shows in the world?
WWE: Unreal debuts on July 29. pic.twitter.com/XzoayfzAHO
— Netflix (@netflix) July 17, 2025
5. This was the only clip from the ESPY Awards I watched this morning, and you should, too. Just an outstanding tribute to the great Lee Corso, who will retire after Week 1 this season.
6. If you believe in betting markets being good at predicting things, the chances of LeBron James getting traded are increasing by the day. DraftKings’ odds of the Lakers moving LeBron have moved from -1000 on July 1 to -340 today.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: It was 35 years ago today that one of the most electrifying plays in Major League Baseball history took place.
Be sure tocatch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina onApple,Spotify orGoogle. You can also follow Jimmy onX andInstagram.